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Rain thunders home in U.A.E. Guineas; Fortify sixth
In contrast, Soft Falling Rain stormed to the front and kept on to score by 2 1/4 lengths. Making light of his 131-pound impost as a Southern Hemisphere-bred, he also scuttled any doubt about his ability to cope with the added furlong here, and finished the metric mile on Tapeta in a sharp 1:36 3/5. His time represents a new stakes record since its move to Meydan, smashing the old mark of 1:37 2/5 established by Musir. Snowboarder, a stablemate of Fortify from the Mahmood al Zarooni yard, rallied best of all to grab second. De Kock's other runner, Zahee, was a one-paced third, and Fortify retreated to sixth in the eight-horse field. Soft Falling Rain boosted his bankroll to $244,258 from his perfect six-for-six mark. His first four starts had come over the turf at Turffontein. After his 2 1/4-length maiden victory, the bay came right back to take a juvenile plate by 4 1/4 lengths, and captured his first stakes attempt in the Storm Bird, all going the same five-furlong distance. Soft Falling Rain wrapped up South African champion two-year-old honors with a 4 1/2-length demolition job in the Group 1 South African Nursery at about six furlongs on April 28. Unlike de Kock's previous Guineas heroes, Soft Falling Rain is not certain to try the about 1 3/16 miles of the Group 2 U.A.E. Derby on March 30. His connections believe that the trip might be a bridge too far. "He is a really nice horse and we will have to decide where he runs next," said Sheikh Hamdan, who was winning his first U.A.E. Two Thousand Guineas. "This 1,600 meters really seems to suit him on this surface and we could stick to this trip. The U.A.E. Derby is possible, but he has a lot of speed. "Wherever he runs here next, we are keen to take him to England and Royal Ascot would be a possibility for him." "We were a bit concerned about his stamina (for the Guineas), de Kock said, "but he has seen it out well and we will have to think about his next race." Although his sire National Assembly is a speed influence, Soft Falling Rain is out of the Giant's Causeway mare Gardener's Delight, and his second dam is by Triple Crown legend Seattle Slew. This is the family of Gal in a Ruckus, queen of the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks in 1995; Clean Sweep, winner of the Group 1 New Zealand Two Thousand Guineas in 2004; and multiple Grade 1 victress Habibti, the dam of 2010 Breeders' Cup Marathon hero Eldaafer. Fortify might have flopped in his debut for al Zarooni, but the trainer connected with two other high-profile debutants in Mental and Moonwalk in Paris.
Krypton Factor, the reigning Golden Shaheen champion, checked in another three-quarters of a length astern in third. The Fawzi Nass runner turned in a fine comeback, having been idle since his sixth behind Black Caviar in last June's Group 1 Diamond Jubilee at Royal Ascot. Mental's resume now reads 13-8-1-1, $1,241,364. A progressive handicapper in late 2011, the gelding continued his ascent through the stakes ranks in 2012. Mental broke through with his first stakes win in the Group 3 Fred Best Classic at Doomben in May, and handled the step up to a mile in the June 9 Daybreak Lover at Eagle Farm. Resuming from his break in the Group 1 Manikato on October 26, he missed by a neck to the razor-sharp Sea Siren, and turned the tables in the Victoria Racing Club. Mental hails from a productive family. His dam, the Night Shift mare Intrigues, is a half-sister to Group 2 winner Sashed, who is in turn the dam of multiple Group 1 hero Freemason. Intrigues is also a half-sister to Group 3 scorers Asarka and Bradshaw, and to the dams of multiple Group 3 winners Debrief and Tarzi. Mental's second dam is multiple Group 2 queen Shaybisc, whose maternal relatives include Australian highweight Solar Circle and Group 1-winning sprinters Undue and Beaded. Like Mental, Beaded is by Lonhro. While Mental is a Darley-bred, Moonwalk in Paris was just added to the fold for a $403,000 price tag at the Arqana Arc Sale in October. The Oratorio gelding had been on the upgrade throughout last year for trainer Jean-Claude Rouget, and his synthetic prowess made him a logical type for the Carnival. Last spring, Moonwalk in Paris stepped up off a pair of conditions-race wins on the all-weather to take his stakes premiere in the Group 3 Prix Edmond Blanc on turf. He held his own in three subsequent starts over a grassy mile, placing in the Group 3 Prix du Chemin de Fer du Nord, Group 3 Prix Messidor and Group 3 Prix Quincey on August 26 in his latest venture.
The French-bred is out of the unraced Singspiel mare Shining Glory, a full sister to French stakes winner Agog. Moonwalk in Paris descends from the same female line as Japanese star Agnes World, twice a Group 1 winner in Europe, and two past Godolphin standouts -- French highweight Librettist and Group 1 victor Dubai Destination. Al Zarooni completed his hat trick with Anatolian in the nightcap. Coming off a photo-finish success in a January 17 handicap here, the son of Pivotal was more convincing this time. With Barzalona back in the saddle, Anatolian rallied to a 1 1/4-length decision over Topclas, who did well to close from the rear. Anatolian stopped the teletimer in 2:32 for about 1 1/2 miles on the good turf. Saeed bin Suroor got Godolphin's big night going in the opener, sending out the trifecta in an about 1 3/8-mile Tapeta handicap. Under a heady ride by Silvestre de Sousa, Kassiano got the decisive jump on stablemate Royal Empire, and just fended him off by a neck at the wire. The front-running Modun held on for third in the all-bin Suroor trifecta. Kassiano was avenging his defeat at Royal Empire's hands on January 10. The two went their separate ways in the interim: Kassiano stayed on the Tapeta to win an about 1 3/16-mile handicap on January 17, but Royal Empire switched to turf and finished second in a January 31 handicap. For their rematch, Kassiano enjoyed an eight-pound weight concession from Royal Empire, and made the most of it to stop the teletimer in 2:18. The lone European winner on the evening was Universal Racing's Trade Storm, who recovered from a slow start to go last to first in a turf handicap. Patiently handled by Jamie Spencer, the David Simcock charge was still last of 12 in the stretch, but as soon as he peeled to the outside, he inhaled the field. Trade Storm barreled past longtime leader Anaerobio to prevail by a handy 3 3/4 lengths, with marathoner Mikhail Glinka a useful third in his return at an inadequate trip. A handicapper in his native England, Trade Storm has now won once in each of the last four seasons. The son of Trade Fair was moving forward considerably off his 11th in a January 24 handicap at Meydan. Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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